Ohio Politics – todayspulse

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, plans to vote to confirm Gina Haspel as director of the Central Intelligence Agency, saying “she is a patriot who stood for all of us.”

In an interview Thursday on Bloomberg Daybreak, Portman predicted “a tight vote” on the Senate floor, adding it was unfortunate “because I think she deserves more support than she’s than she’s going to get.”

“She followed the law, she’s a consummate professional,” Portman said.

The 2018 race for Ohio governor between Richard Cordray and Mike DeWine features two different kind of “boring” candidates, one local political scientist says.

David Niven, University of Cincinnati political scientist, said DeWine’s brand of boring is “like a grandpa on the porch going on about how much he enjoys pie. Cordray offers the classic monotone boring of an accountant offering a list of reasons you should consider itemizing next year.”

He added: “The good news for both of them is that they are in absolutely no danger of losing the race due to their opponent’s charm and charisma.”

Ohio Sen. Rob Portman paid tribute to former first lady Barbara Bush last night on the Senate floor. Here’s what he had to say:

“Today I want to talk about the passing of an extraordinary woman. A woman who captured the hearts of Americans across every spectrum.

“Barbara Bush was one of the most popular people in America—and for good reason. One of only two women in the history of our country to be both First Lady of the United States and also the mother of a president, she consistently used those platforms that, as she would say, ‘God graced [More]

Sen. Rob Portman late last week said he has secured a commitment from the Department of Energy to clean up existing landfills and plumes at the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant.

The plant, which enriched uranium during the Cold War and later enriched uranium for nuclear power plants through 2001, has awaited cleanup for years, with Portman, R–Ohio, and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D–Ohio, among those fighting annually for cleanup money. Last September, Energy Secretary Rick Perry toured the site.

“I believe his visit here made a difference in securing today’s commitment form DOE,” Portman said.

Ohio’s governor on Monday ordered flags flown at half-staff around the state to honor two police officers killed over the weekend in suburban Columbus.
The order from Republican Gov. John Kasich applies to flags at public properties and will be in place until the officers are interred.
The order came hours before police in suburban Westerville were slated to escort the bodies of 39-year-old Eric Joering and 54-year-old Anthony Morelli from a coroner’s office to separate funeral homes. Officials invited the public to line the route.
Westerville police haven’t announced funeral details.
The officers were shot Saturday while responding to a 911 hang-up call [More]

Sen. Rob Portman, who received $2,700 from embattled casino owner Steve Wynn and $2,700 from Wynn’s wife in 2016, will give that money to charities that combat human trafficking, his spokeswoman said today.

The charities are in Ohio, the Ohio Republican’s spokeswoman said.

Wynn stepped down as the Republican National Committee’s Finance Chair after the Wall Street Journal last week published a story accusing him of decades of abuse and harassement of women who worked for him. The paper reprted that Wynn, among other things, paid $7.5 million to a manicurist he coerced into sex in 2005. Wynn [More]

Politico put out a list of U.S. Senate races to watch next year and Ohio’s made the list.

Our neighbors in Indiana made the list too.

The Ohio race ranked at #7 on the list.

Here’s what Politico said about Ohio’s race between Democrat Sherrod Brown and either Republican Josh Mandel or Republican Mike Gibbons:

7. Ohio — Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown running for reelection

A likely rematch of Brown’s 2012 victory over state Treasurer Josh Mandel will be fought on altered terrain. That year, Brown appealed to the same blue-collar voters that embraced Trump in 2016. Mandel, meanwhile, has spent the past six years [More]

Portman, R-Ohio, was named last week as one of the senators to be part of a conference committee with the House to forge a final compromise of the GOP-backed plan to overhaul the tax code and reduce tax rates for corporations, small companies, and individuals.

The House and Senate approved slightly different versions of the tax bill, meaning the conferees have to reconcile those differences. Once they do, the House and Senate will have to pass the bill [More]

“Former Senate President Bill Harris was a beloved and respected member of our Senate family. A humble public servant, Bill represented the best of Ohio. He served his country first on the battlefields as a Marine before coming home to build a business and invest in the people and the communities he later represented in the Ohio House and Senate. His devotion to his family, his authentic faith and his genuine interest in his fellow Ohioans [More]